It wasn't all that long ago when Camp Hill barely had enough boys to field a cross country squad.

But thanks to a senior leader in David Moretz, who never said die even through the program's hardest times, a dedicated coaching staff and a fresh crop of underclassmen, the Lions are on top of the District 3 Cross Country world for the first time in school history.

Biglerville's Brady Wilt won the Boy's Class A race at the 2013 PIAA District-3 Cross Country Championships at Hershey, Pa. His winning time was 16:54. (Mark Pynes/mpynes@pennlive.com)

Camp Hill shined above its small-school competition at Hersheypark's Parkview Course, winning the Class A team title with 45 points to edge out favored Veritas Academy by two points. Biglerville, with a back-to-back district champion in Brady Wilt, took third with 55 points.

"We felt we could be in top company today, we were getting better every week," Camp Hill Mike Barndt said. "We were just hoping we had enough depth to keep our score down and keep everyone else's scores up."

Sophomores Blake Behney (17:19) and Cooper Leslie (17:27) took second and fourth, respectively.

Those two points proved to make a big difference in Camp Hill's run to the championship.

"The Veritas kid was right beside me and then he passed me," Behney said. "I kicked it in the last 150 yards to beat him. I was expecting him to beat me. His best time was listed as a minute before me. I'm glad Cooper was there to keep him on his toes."

As for Wilt, he clocked in at 16:54 to finish 25 seconds ahead of the field. Last year, Wilt won districts with a 17:24.

Things just keep getting better for the Canners' junior.

"It feels great. I've been working hard over the summer and season to get here," Wilt said. "And once I got to this point, I just wanted to deliver."

Wilt said he came into this season's race with the mindset of wanting to lead from start to finish. He nearly did so, battling Spykstra for the first mile before eventually breaking away from the pack. Wilt attacked the hill after the first mile marker and was in good shape for the remainder of the race.

"It was go time right there," Wilt said. "I just wanted to take it and not look back."

Now for Wilt and a select group of small-school runners, states is the only race that remains.

"I'm really excited about next week, I have a lot of expectations I've set for myself," Wilt said. "I'm hoping to finish in the Top 3 and fulfill my goals."